AMWTP Overview - Characterization

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project is committed to meeting all technical and regulatory requirements to safely retrieve, characterize, treat and package transuranic waste for shipment out of Idaho to permanent disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in
New Mexico.

Characterization

After the waste containers have been retrieved from waste storage they are examined in the AMWTP Characterization Facility. During characterization, each container is examined and tested to determine its contents.

The AMWTP Characterization Facility is a modified storage module that houses waste testing equipment including real-time radiography units, gamma spectrometry equipment, a drum coring unit and a headspace gas sampling glovebox. Each piece of equipment performs a specific function to ensure the contents of the waste containers before they are treated and shipped.

Real-time radiography x-rays the waste containers and is powerful enough to see the components of a light bulb inside of a waste drum.
Gamma spectrometry equipment measures the amount of radiation present in each waste container.
Drum coring takes a sample of certain containers to determine its content matter.
Headspace gas sampling checks for the presence of harmful gases within waste containers. This process is performed inside a glovebox.

After the containers are characterized, they are either sent to the loading facilities for packaging and shipment or to the Treatment Facility for further processing.

Storage & Retrieval

Characterization

Treatment Facility

Supercompactor

Loading & Shipping

To get more information about AMWTP's customer, visit the Department of Energy's homepage.

The Retrieval Enclosure, which houses 53,300 cubic meters of waste, is approximately the same length as an aircraft carrier, or equivalent to the size of four football fields.

The real-time radiography units used in the Characterization Facility to X-ray waste are powerful enough to see the filaments of a light bulb that is wrapped in coveralls, inside a plastic liner, inside a steel container.

Waste is transported to different areas of the Treatment Facility by an intricate system of conveyers and drum-handling robots so all waste handling is done remotely.

The three-story Supercompactor glovebox is one of the largest in the U.S. It was tested in Holland and then Nashville, Tennessee before being shipped to Idaho.

Waste shipped from AMWTP travels more than 1,300 miles to its final destination at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico.

Search for current career opportunities and submit a résumé to AMWTP Human Resources.

Find out about the AMWTP Procurement department and processes.

The real time radiography units used in the Characterization Facility to X-ray waste are powerful enough to see the filaments of a light bulb that is wrapped in coveralls, inside a plastic liner, inside a steel container.



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